Gandhi was a master of the political deployment of ritual

Assorted tweets:

Modi is a master of employing ritual to political ends, this requires refinement.

No, it is about more than 'political effectiveness'. If you look at the royal rituals, the day to day itenary of our kings, and so on, you will see that the ritualization of politics is integral to the H conception of politics itself. Gandhi's ritualization of his politics

https://twitter.com/ArmchairPseph/status/1147901723903590400?s=19

was not some cynical ploy, it was the natural instinct of a H leader. Gandhi succeeded because he was less westernized than Savarkar, and could deploy a mode of politics that Savarkar was incapable of. Before Gandhi, Tilak had done this successfully.

Sadly, after that, we got a Gandhi rather than someone who could take forward Tilak's work. But at the same time, it was only a Westernized mind like Savarkar's that could have conceptualized Hindutva, the idea of Hindus as a political community, as a nation.

These are Western (the idea of nation-state) and Abrahmic (the idea of a religious identity being also a political one) concepts, appropriated for use by dharmikas as weapons. Only a Westernized mind could have done it. Which is also why nobody in the 'traditionalist' camp could

have done it. Islam could accept a Jinnah as its leader readily because the Ummah has always been a political community, Savarkar was telling Hindus to become one, in the manner of the Ummah, because it was only in that way that the Ummah can be countered.

While a Savarkar could create and germinate that idea, a Savarkar cannot popularize it to Hindus, what Hindutva needed was a leader who could deploy Gandhi-like ritualized, sacralized politics to instill the idea into Hindus.

Modi could have been that, but he seems to have refused the mantle.

Related: Gandhi was a master of the political deployment of ritual too. https://t.co/BOVlPpz9gy

Jinnah became leader of Indian Muslims, Hindus chose Gandhi over Savarkar (who was like Jinnah in that to him Hinduism was first and foremost a political identity). That too is very telling, about both Islam and Hinduism. https://t.co/VlPUCue243

https://twitter.com/ArmchairPseph/status/1147895726963396608?s=19

He is not cognizant of civilizational stakes, he is our Eisenhower

https://twitter.com/doubtinggaurav/status/1147905845012811776?s=19

Eisenhower was v much conscious of the civilizational stakes

His tenure kept the incipient Communist tendencies within US at bay

Never opposed McCarthy until the point when McCarthy went out of control

Also a full fledged supporter of the containment strategy

https://twitter.com/shrikanth_krish/status/1147908743427952642?s=19

None of you will agree, but Modi's public display of humility may be out of his genuine urge for atonement. With age one realises and he seems to be willing to even risk his chair owing to drastic revisionism. Some intellectual may be responsible for this U-turn. @SudheenKulkarni

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1147951806120546304?s=19

Islam doesn't exist by itself; people are born into it continuously. So it's about human beings and there's no uniformity in practice. It's easy to criticise it in an abstract sense but by itself Islam can't do anything. It is a methodological discrepancy. https://t.co/NtZOPetPVc

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1147956632850092032?s=19

My point is, blaming Islam as an abstract entity is anomalous. Local degeneration or deformations should be examined individually. So, there should be no blanket condemnation involving billions of people. This much fairness is warranted.

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1147960079976525824?s=19

See I'm arguing that whatever happened in the past is by Monarchs who are beyond Democratic or legal interrogation. So when you bring in Islam as an entity or agency, it's anomalous. What the kings did or didn't should be the point of attention but is of no avail. @fourfoldvision

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1109882339033702400?s=19

I reiterate that past Kings are beyond the purview of Democratic interrogation. Discussing them is like wrestling with ghosts. Conflating issues won't bring clarity but your one point agenda is to target the people of a particular religion disregarding centuries of co-existence.

Just like Marx shouldn't be blamed for what Jyoti Basu did to WB, similarly all wrong actions of men shouldn't be put at the door of their religion. Both of us adore The Mother but differ. So perspectives relating to power, politics, self-interest are at fault. Such nuance needed

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1109888094726053888?s=19

Youth symbolises hope and optimism; it also nurtures change. With onset of decline in mid age clinging to past and nostalgia dominate. Legitimising it as preservation of tradition adds to self esteem. Such a defence mechanism buttressed by political ideology turns out to be toxic

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1148132264619831297?s=19

the Orchid and the rOse: Sri Aurobindo's fame as a mystic obscured his importance as a poet and aesthetician https://t.co/r3Be8GwJYe

@NathTusar, Director, Savitri Era Learning Forum (SELF) #FiveDreams #WorldUnion

Savitri Era of those who adore,

Om Sri Aurobindo & The Mother.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1148120736667561985?s=19

"I feel sorry that Sri Aurobindo 's Future Poetry is not taking wings. I mean, neither  his poetry is studied in any great systematic way nor much of the expected kind being written. Can there be a way out?" Mail recvd this morning from RY Deshpande .

https://twitter.com/GoutamGhosal2/status/1148060687643492352?s=19

RY DESHPANDE is unquestionably the greatest living Savitri scholar in the planet.  Let this be a push for all of us to try to do well.

Appreciate his concern but none has inclination for inward look. Everyone look outward, trying to become a 'baba' sitting in his petty corner, throwing pearls of wisdom, seeing his invisible statue, hearing silent clapping. No better than televangelist, only less known.

https://twitter.com/Suranjan56/status/1148105554738331648?s=19

Sri Aurobindo on The Principle of Free Confederation versus The Idea of Self -Determination: The cases of Finland and Poland. https://t.co/2cFME4PEm0

https://twitter.com/drsbasu2115/status/1148139727599493121?s=19

"The advent of the British in India synchronised with a low ebb of  national vitality. It was the reign of passivity, a moment of tamas, of  the exhaustion of a long endeavour–one that periodically comes upon all  nations." Read more in Renaissance,Vol1(5) https://t.co/maSBFbsj0M

https://twitter.com/AUROSAFIC/status/1148105399427588096?s=19

Very well put

There are so many on the Right who hate Gandhi

Yet never quite acknowledge or even begin to understand his "secret sauce"

He was authentically Indian (or at least perceived as such) in a way that Savarkar wasn't

Very hard for Gandhi-haters to digest. But fact https://t.co/ePbpmUJllf

https://twitter.com/shrikanth_krish/status/1147912196392984576?s=19

Many think it was just "dikhaawa"

I don't quite agree

Notwithstanding all his years in South Africa and England, Gandhi was a Desi. An authentic Desi in so many ways

You sense this only after reading a lot of Gandhi

His autobiography is not read enough by Indians...

His sense of compunction upon his father's death, when he was busy seeking pleasure elsewhere...

And the impact of that incident on his later streak of anti-sensuality and austerity...

That's so very typically Indian

Or that other extract later in his auto-bio, where he declares that a maid's service to her master is superior to the wife's service...

Because the wife's service is in part motivated by romantic love

That's such a uniquely Indian way of analyzing things..

It's a shame that the conservative movement has not quite produced anyone like Gandhi who exuded Indian-ness

Nobody has come close..

The hard drinking Vajpayee? Not even in the same planet in terms of exuding Indian-ness

In fact the only person who has come close since independence is Narendra Modi

Yes...Modi

And that explains his success!

https://twitter.com/shrikanth_krish/status/1147914735247118336?s=19

Absolutely true. Emphasis on Ramanama, Gou Seva, calling for Charkha Yagna, hailing Ramcharitmanas as greatest devotional book, calling Tulasidas as prince among devotees 1/5

Countering Aurobindo on Vibhishana and calling him a Satyagrahi against Ravana, calling Prahlada as the first Satyagrahi, making Narsi bhajans as his prayer cum creed, asking for non cooperation in the lines of Sita against Ravana! 2/5

https://twitter.com/karrama12/status/1148092013150998528?s=19

Justifying Varnashrama dharma as science , hailing Gita as his mother, calling Ahimsa as same practiced by Dileepa against the lion as written by Kalidasa, visiting Temples, calling Padmanabha Swamy temple visit as most memorable 3/5

Modi has similarly used the phrases Janata Janardhan for the masses, campaign for votes as asking Ashirvad from people, terming Technology as mahtmay of technology, making temple visits part of campaign 4/5

60 years’ of original work of the rare duo of Ram Swarup & Sita Ram Goel hardly left a mark on the intellectual scene of our country. Both died largely unsung. It is not a small measure of the regrettable situation... By @hesivh ji for The @dharmadispatch https://t.co/PMuYvosUO8

https://twitter.com/_Bhaarat_/status/1148153297800290306?s=19

This is why free speech is a wonderful thing: the more freely these eminences speak, the more they unravel themselves. 

By Sandeep Balakrishna @dharmadispatch https://t.co/xelv9ESUHc

https://twitter.com/CASandeepSehgal/status/1148150771139010560?s=19

Last month, her ministry launched a programme, “Let’s talk loneliness”, to enable exactly that: encourage people to talk about their feelings and reach out to others. “Just a small hi, how do you do, can help,” says Davies. “The community, as it existed in the eras gone by, is breaking — and we need to do something to fill the gap.”

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/worldwide-problem-must-reach-out-says-uks-minister-of-loneliness-5818992/lite/?__twitter_impression=true

https://twitter.com/madhukishwar/status/1147917781561593856?s=19

“Peers” are a resource that can be tapped into to support a wide variety of people in the mental health system. These are people who have lived experiences of recovery in mental health.

https://t.co/LT4XRC7AP7

https://twitter.com/epw_in/status/1148162306162876416?s=19

#FromTheEditorsDesk: The structural politics that was once characterised by the back-to-back struggles that the toiling masses were forced to undertake has now considerably declined, or is being completely replaced by electoral politics.

https://t.co/DMY6N9VK8Y

https://twitter.com/epw_in/status/1148162306049576962?s=19

This is maybe one of the very first times that a Bollywood mainstream movie has delved into the realities of caste-based violence. Mind you, I say caste-based violence, not caste. - @SumanSaurav92. @ayushmannk @anubhavsinha. #FIIReviews #Article15 https://t.co/zJKzxaokQ6

https://twitter.com/FeminismInIndia/status/1148162305986686977?s=19

Seems like #SandeepVanga has confused love with ownership. In all his defense for slapping your partner or touching them when you want to, there is no mention of consent or a person’s agency. Writes @yamini_pb #KabirSingh https://t.co/aUFfHouOtR

https://twitter.com/SheThePeopleTV/status/1148149526789681152?s=19

[REPLUG] Using the symbolism of 786 in Deewaar, Salim-Javed Halal-ed Hindus thru cinema. Hindus were lulled into the historical reality of their encounters with Islamic rule. 

https://t.co/mqao2bcZgA

https://twitter.com/dharmadispatch/status/1148102569647988736?s=19

Hindi cinema post-1947 became the ideological tool of the Indian state founded on a colonial constitution. Likes of Salim-Javed were peddling Secularism/islamism. Look to Raj Kapoor for the poison of socialism, Awara and Shri 420 specially. @dharmadispatch https://t.co/5LdnXbIuOS

https://twitter.com/vikasdrolia/status/1147984943785451521?s=19

In Tamil Nadu, movies have tremendous power. In a systematic manner, the evangelical forces  has captured the movie industry and is running its pet theme through all the movies: Hinduism is spiritual despotism and facilitates exploitation of TN. https://t.co/EFwKPsbtKN

https://twitter.com/prasannavishy/status/1147886527386570754?s=19

Sakshi (1986) and Mandra (2002) are the fine artistic and literary specimens of Dr. Bhyrappa’s profound meditations over nearly half a lifetime. 

Mandra: The Triumph of Ramkumari https://t.co/TyRSIx2RS3

https://twitter.com/prekshaajournal/status/1148132515913224192?s=19

References:

But, with due respect, the quotation does not reflect is claimed; Gandhiji would have said the same to Muslims too. Non-retaliation & ahimsa were for everyone, not for Hindus alone. But let's move on, shall we? If you disagree, that's fine too. https://t.co/FYUV89AKt7

https://twitter.com/MakrandParanspe/status/1047858382009298944?s=19

Hahaha...the basic truth, which is as old as the hills, is that violence cannot be countered or won by greater violence, but only by non-violence. Yes, it does help to beat up or defeat the bad guys, but then the hard work of reconstruction & peace-making begins all over again. https://t.co/LcVDl5mNGX

https://twitter.com/MakrandParanspe/status/1047898541648044032?s=19

I am not defending Gandhi, but trying to understand him. Quoting him out of context, distorting his views, making him a villain for our own flaws will not help. Millions of Indians voluntarily followed him; many others, including Bose, did not. You are free to choose your path.

https://twitter.com/MakrandParanspe/status/1048938896304693248?s=19 07 Oct 18

Then in the same spirit and logic do not implicate The Mother with any tacit or overt approval of Nehru and Indira outside or without context.

And refrain from telling those who View Gandhi differently that they're wrong and it's a tactical mistake.

https://twitter.com/AloPal/status/1048955599910649862?s=19

There is a lot of good in every person.No human is constructed absolute evil.There r others whose good is the predominant legacy. NOT Gandhi https://t.co/aHhLkqCmlW
https://twitter.com/AloPal/status/880590656434982913?s=19

Gandhi was foolish in giving that advice to Jews.  You will find a lot of worth in him if you stop expecting perfection. https://t.co/y7cxpqKSIb
https://twitter.com/madhukishwar/status/880504687178522624?s=19
Just bcoz Mahatma Gandhi blundered in dealings with Jinnah doesn't diminish his greatness & creative use of SanatanDharma for 20th C battles https://t.co/3iEue4pt6u
https://twitter.com/madhukishwar/status/880354326090219520?s=19

Subhash Chandra Bose? RT @_Mauna_: I count three leaders who actively opposed Gandhi without qualms - Ambedkar, Savarkar & Jinnah.
https://twitter.com/KetPan/status/348061209037246464?s=19
RT @_Mauna_ 28 Gandhi, at the very first opportunity, was given up by his same leaders who had held him up as an exemplar during the Brit Raj
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/567732416182108160?s=19
Aurobindo was so right about Gandhi. Aurobindo's blunder was to abdicate his own responsibility to fight Gandhi's pernicious influence.
https://twitter.com/PaulDeoSan/status/348007342719262721?s=19
@SavitriEraParty My point was too many ppl including Aurobindo gave Gandhi a free reign whn thy hd the insight to realize whr he was headed.
https://twitter.com/PaulDeoSan/status/348051100798160897?s=19

@_Mauna_ Sri Aurobindo's major task was trouncing Hitler with his Yogic force. He was surely opposed to Gandhi in many ways but not fully.
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/348052694801448960?s=19
@_Mauna_ You are right. But such references are there in Sri Aurobindo's published Autobiographical Writings and allied literature.
Nobel prize can't happen without clutching on to Gandhi narrative. Besides it's not easy to demolish all that has been said in praise of Gandhi. Even saying that Sri Aurobindo was against him won't be wholly correct. How he definitely was an agent of Zeitgeist must be appreciated
https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/968173887010648064?s=19

Quest for a historical core for puranas is futile

Assorted tweets:

We could cite the example of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya here. Upadhyaya obviously has his champions on the right, but he has never been absolutely assimilated into the saffron nationalist pantheon where the likes of Savarkar and Golwalkar rest.

Can ‘cold’ constitutional values like fraternity, secularism, liberty ever quell the rage that hatred and nationalism have fomented on the streets, and chill this propensity toward violence?

Love, for example, even tolerant inclusion, is extremely difficult to vernacularise. And yet we have no alternative other than vernacularising our basic constitutional values, of championing sadhbhavana, ahimsa, and a related basket of concepts that may contain more heat, more passion. It’s a tall order to make fraternity, love politically organic. But inclusive concepts — ideological and not ethno-racial — must occupy the mental and spiritual space currently monopolised by exclusive ones.

India and the Indian: Will we never be able to achieve consensus on being legitimately Indian, writes Aakash Singh Rathore https://t.co/MSBIiV2KGK

https://twitter.com/aakash_ironman/status/1144812508332433408?s=19

A very cool collage of my book covers over the last decade. I’ve been lucky to have great designers.

#books #bookworm #booklover #bookshelf #bookclub #reader #readmore #booklovers #published #bookpic #booktography #bookwormfeature #reading #readerlife #bibliophile #bookishthings https://t.co/fMhQcF0qHm

https://twitter.com/aakash_ironman/status/1145311357408952320?s=19

Caste adapts to changing state technologies and political economy, but remains a total social fact, organising every realm of Indian life: legal, economic and political, religious, aesthetic and cultural. This is not to minimise the pernicious nature of colonialism, or ...

Caste Wasn't a British Construct – and Anyone Who Studies History Should Know That https://t.co/58MN36TbHd via @thewire_in

https://twitter.com/svaradarajan/status/1145332082568077315?s=19

Let Gandhi be our guide to show how not to hate in Ram’s name https://t.co/Jn2ZXwhXVR

https://twitter.com/TOIOpinion/status/1145072337483472896?s=19

Hate and and violence in the name of Ram does unconscionable damage not only  to democracy but also to  India’s religious traditions. My take https://t.co/bFnIn1S2sL

https://twitter.com/sagarikaghose/status/1145326299180724224?s=19

There’s nothing wrong with taking a dim view of Aurangzeb or Tipu Sultan if that’s your thing. The problem arises when you start imagining that your Muslim neighbour owes you an explanation for them. [Reup] https://t.co/W3nxddeC6b

https://twitter.com/dhume/status/1144967452171952130?s=19

My piece. Serve Allah, marry a Hindu or wear a burkha, stop profiling Muslim women https://t.co/ZgtHJ6JpKu

https://twitter.com/_sabanaqvi/status/1145325389201330176?s=19

My column on the transformation from Ram Ram and the feminine first Siya Ram to the masculine aggressive Jai SHRI RAM.... https://t.co/hKmjG86Gnh

https://twitter.com/_sabanaqvi/status/1145154831767822341?s=19

In their bid to undermine Arif Mohammed Khan, the intellectual Maulanas have only proved the accuracy of Khan’s assessment. https://t.co/POAro42fQp

https://twitter.com/OpIndia_com/status/1145308501528334336?s=19

The Liberal-Islamist alliance is rattled by Arif Mohammad Khan. The reason is because ⁦@RifatJawaid⁩ type pseudo-liberals are totally regressive, intolerant and hate the Truth, even as they practise misogyny. ⁦@arifmohammadk⁩ exposes them.  https://t.co/Xqjm0peF0t

https://twitter.com/Sanjay_Dixit/status/1145322935768403973?s=19

Arif Mohammad Khan is playing a harmful game. He is creating the false perception that plight of Muslims is somehow their own fault. Then by creating terms like Deobandi Fundamentalism - straight out of RW playbook - he is giving talking points for badgering the community more

https://twitter.com/AdityaMenon22/status/1144485019810820099?s=19

Do yourself a favor, please watch Article 15. @ayushmannk is amazing and so is @Mdzeeshanayyub !! Take a bow @anubhavsinha not many have the guts to make such a movie! You should know the hall in my small town in TN was almost full and the audience couldn't stop clapping !

https://twitter.com/vakeel_saheba/status/1145322028330672128?s=19

Despite raking up billions, #KabirSingh reopens the debate over normalization of #rape culture and toxic behavior portrayed in #Indiancinema, reports @sehgal106. #India #movies #ToxicMasculinity https://t.co/TOnTLcHvF9

https://twitter.com/AsiaTimes_In/status/1145309242728968192?s=19

"Don’t look for role models or measures of success in the displeasure of Allah" https://t.co/yg8PmzWZus

https://twitter.com/SwarajyaMag/status/1145312024710094848?s=19

Why should she publicise it. its between her and her Allah. It’s like wanting to draw more attention to oneself, instead of trying to move away from attention and false popularity. Those who give up worldly things do it silently & in peace. https://t.co/5kgrAA0K36

https://twitter.com/shahid_siddiqui/status/1145311054651543553?s=19

Brought up on a dose of false knowledge as a believer, you always live in the dread of eternal hell. Anxiety gets more acute when told that you have just one life and an eternal afterlife. @ZairaWasimmm dropped burqa and had a Hindu BF in Secret Superstar, so got hounded by Ms https://t.co/gPnesOCuLw

https://twitter.com/Sanjay_Dixit/status/1145302683688898566?s=19

The usual suspects who are butthurt after seeing Nusrat’s sindoor, are drawing a false equivalence between Zaira Wasim & Nusrat Jahan. While Nusrat is clearly enjoying the marital bliss, Wasim is trying to pollute young minds interested in art, by making it look like a bad thing.

https://twitter.com/AsYouNotWish/status/1145290356704985089?s=19

#TIL that Gibbon’s seminal treatise on the decline of the Roman Empire was on the Catholic Church’s list of “prohibited books” because he had squarely laid the blame of the downfall on Christianity..on the indifference of Christian Romans to tend to material needs of Empire

https://twitter.com/sabeaux/status/1145304156099371008?s=19

Didn’t know this about the Life of Brian, either.. https://t.co/uJI8LhC6ad

"More than 30 years and an entire political and economic system away from Chernobyl, we are watching many of our political and economic leaders lie about climate change, as if untruth has some new power to stop physics." Great piece by @brdemuth, must read https://t.co/mu2njw7gsj

https://twitter.com/GhoshAmitav/status/1145313781821648898?s=19

'It beckons you, holds you by your lapels and shakes you till you are ready to open your eyes. For this book is an awakening for the world.' @Ttindia on @GhoshAmitav's bestselling new novel GUN ISLAND.  https://t.co/XairRlOFVC

https://twitter.com/MeruGokhale/status/1145223618005127168?s=19

The #Anthropocene is about more than #climatechange. It is about an entire system of life, designed to maximise resource extraction at the expense of expendable ‘Others’; a global system of racism emerging from the legacy of centuries of colonialism. https://t.co/eldJt7tL0v

https://twitter.com/NafeezAhmed/status/1144278006598459392?s=19

Aryan Race & Hindu Fascism: @RajivMessage dismantles Romila Thapar in this series titled 'Decolonizing Romila Thapar' - do notice how she speaks only within her close cartel club, and never debates her positions. She refused an invite to @JaipurDialogues https://t.co/obZhJuvC4C

https://twitter.com/Sanjay_Dixit/status/1144200752937627648?s=19

Read a comment to the effect that using the term “myths” means that the person has no faith & should be committed to an asylum. By that logic, many great AcAryas would be worthy of being committed for holding that myths reflect certain truths outside historical time & space.

https://twitter.com/GhorAngirasa/status/1145278248437219329?s=19

A huge consequence of technological egalitarianism (equal access to technology/resources) is that individuals of very mediocre abilities watch a few videos of famous Hindutva tweeple, get all woke & go around giving their useless opinions on complex theological issues.

Unpopular opinion: Forming opinions & arguments on Hindu theological issues should never be a democratic, free-for-all process. There should be a diversity of opinions, yes; but from a small group of intelligent people. Unfortunately, we can’t enforce that here.

The idea that historical actuality of scripture is essential in order for scriptures/traditions to have any worth/value is shared by both abrahamisms & modern atheism.

By Liam Jerrold Fraser in "The Secret Sympathy: New Atheism, Protestant Fundamentalism, and Evolution": https://t.co/ErZgwQ4LKP

https://twitter.com/Shakra_Kulish/status/1145368930254352384?s=19

I remember a discussion we once had, long ago, on the traditional dating of the Mahabharata and BB Lal's. Am I to assume you have changed your stance?

https://twitter.com/ArmchairPseph/status/1145351790499491841?s=19

My POV is a somewhat nuanced one, the quest for a historical core is futile both in terms of spiritual value and in terms of whether finding it is possible, but we should not assert literalism above the proof of pratyaksha pramana, that is anti tradition

Pointless apoptotic discussions about the historicity, veracity of "Myths" in purANas, shruti, smriti. Personally I'm a student of biology in "modern" Gen next era, if I've to apply science/logic in every scripture because of my "scientific" background I better commit suicide.

Myth is derived from Greek, doesn't mean false in today's sense. Egyptian, Hellenic, Roman scholars of yore held Myths as the historical legends associated with Gods. Now coming to ours, we don't have any such term Myth: it is paurANika/vaidika but definitely not non-historic.

The example I gave of 'anathema'. It was the equivalent of Greek 'prasad'. Got its current meaning because Christians wouldn't touch it. Now we aren't supposed to go around calling our own prasad 'anathema'. That would be foolish.

https://twitter.com/Shatrubhanja/status/1145371285330878464?s=19

Vaidik dharma lives in the Pauranik dharma, which lives in the heart of every Hindu.

Des Raj Goyal was an RSS swayamsevak who left the group & wrote about it. His history of the group's founding is particularly insightful. RSS co-founder Hedgewar, he wrote, wanted: "A militant gang which would not stand duality of allegiance either to persons or to principles."

"... were Dr. Moonje, Dr. Paranjpe, Dr. Hedgewar, Dr. Tholkar, & Babarao Savarkar. The RSS publications mention only the figure (5) & not the names perhaps because all of them were Hindu Mahasabha leaders & the RSS has been shy of owning up any relationship with the Mahasabha..."

https://twitter.com/FriedrichPieter/status/1145316779188719616?s=19

A little-known script from sultanate-era India may be a clue about the era’s multilingual culture

https://t.co/SHasYp2DRW https://t.co/cxBKI5WmMT

https://twitter.com/scroll_in/status/1145371416591773697?s=19

Mangoes turning saffron from green after Modi’s victory is a huge concern, activists say https://t.co/jcysv7KY1H

https://twitter.com/OpIndia_com/status/1145353800821006340?s=19

There’s no such thing as a “tech person” in the age of AI. Social problems are no longer limited for humanities folks and technical problems are no longer domain of scientists or engineers solely. https://t.co/oDhj71lQy6

https://twitter.com/abhisheksurana/status/1145376750265782272?s=19

Probably the best lecture to understand, de-stigmatize, & demystify #depression. If you are a care-giver or have a friend who is going through depressive disorders, this is a great resource to orient+educate yourself. Prof. Robert Sapolsky in Stanford: https://t.co/widSRzKrjG 1/3

https://twitter.com/varungrover/status/1145235224810287104?s=19

It talks about the multiple components (biological, psychological, sociological) that make one prone to depression & is very reassuring in its broad diagnosis of the struggle.

Sadly the video quality is bad but someone has thankfully put subtitles so it's easy to follow.

29 June 2019 marked the eighth death anniversary of K. D. Sethna. As our homage to him, an article titled ‘Years with my mentor: K. D. Sethna’ penned by Dr. Goutam Ghosal has been published in the website of Overman Foundation. To read Dr. Ghosal’s tribute to K. D. Sethna, kindly click on the following link: http://overmanfoundation.org/2019/06/30/years-with-my-mentor-k-d-sethna-by-goutam-ghosal/

With warm regards, Anurag Banerjee

#SriAurobindo

Cricket, chess, or tennis: see life through the learning lens

Assorted tweets:

The person who gave us Tuglak, Nagamandala, Bali, Hayavadana and more, also recreated Kurosawa's Seven Samurai in Kannada–Jnanapit Award winner, and littérateur, #GirishKarnad is no more. Karnataka can't thank you enough for your contribution. https://t.co/qD0X4kBDXF

https://twitter.com/ananthshreyas/status/1137935268910997506?s=19

With Girish Karnad's passing, I write for @newslaundry on the decline of India's once robust tradition of literary multilingualism - a tradition that informed, shaped Karnad's own work. I focus specifically on cosmopolitanism in #Kannada literature. https://t.co/AV5O4jGGNu

https://twitter.com/SandalBurn/status/1139847609911136256?s=19

Once upon a time, there was an India—a Karnataka—in which a #GirishKarnad could co-direct and do the screenplay for ‘Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane’, a movie based on a book of the same name by S.L. Bhyrappa (in Hindi as ‘Godhuli’). https://t.co/P7XflyrH2G

https://twitter.com/churumuri/status/1137962439599747072?s=19

Hahahahaha!  Sri Aurobindo listened to Baba Alauddin Khan for 4 hours frm his secluded room in Pondicherry. 2 hours in the morning n 2 in the evening. Said: " Alauddin n I were known to each other in our previous lives."

https://twitter.com/GoutamGhosal2/status/1142664029845856256?s=19

To do justice to multiple schools of philosophy from India, Aurobindo presents a recommended order of readings in the opening para here. https://t.co/I88JOa4gMm

(I am not recommending this recommendation, but sharing it to prompt the sharing of other such recommendations!)

https://twitter.com/longhandnotes/status/1142643210042261504?s=19

Each individual has to find the right intellectual resources by applying sufficient critical scrutiny. Chasing celebrities is an easy trap for adolescents to get misguided. Even education system or media can be misleading. Political preference also deprives of authentic knowledge

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1140681514390175744?s=19

High culture is almost synonymous with the higher consciousness stressed by The Mother & Sri Aurobindo. This in a way is antithetical to the folk and popular culture lapped up by the subaltern scholars and postmodernist sociologists. No doubt, a huge chasm exists; hard to bridge.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1139824991736721408?s=19

There can be various opinions about the past which keeps on changing but the truth is that contact with European education and culture gave the Bengalis the first mover's advantage. Their position is secure in history; no one can dispute with that or remove them from the pedestal

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1139373173680431104?s=19

Even after successive spiritual experiences, Sri Aurobindo chose the intellectual route to spread his synthetic knowledge and Integral vision. No single text can impart that and the right course perhaps is to rummage through one hundred primary volumes with a childlike curiosity.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1142352498490871808?s=19

6) Hymns 33 - 38 (Verses 384 - 471):

Description of Rig-Veda, Mandala 01, Sukta 033 to 038 (including the journey of the Sun and the workings of the Maruts);

with #SriAurobindo's explanation of the basis of His psychological theory for translating the Vedas https://t.co/vmJtv5jrDo

https://twitter.com/Auro_Mere/status/1142497402563125248?s=19

“A change of consciousness is the whole meaning of the process of Yoga.” #SriAurobindo To commemorate #InternationalYogaDay2019, the SAFIC yoga class gave a  demonstration of Hathayoga, Yugma yoga (yoga in pairs), Mantra yoga -  all done as an offering to the Divine Mother. https://t.co/CsaR7K5HfB

https://twitter.com/AUROSAFIC/status/1142443177514811397?s=19

This book is an incisive rejoinder by Sri Aurobindo 2 Archer's proposition that entirety of Indian philosophy, religion, art, & literature was a mass of barbarism. Earlier titled ' Foundations of Indian Culture' it gives a holistic view of Hindu culture.

https://t.co/lAtYNy95AN https://t.co/TwAJfHLDWb

https://twitter.com/hindueshop/status/1142390207674646528?s=19

All credit goes to Vivek Madhav sir....he is tirelessly serving mother and sri aurobindo without thinking about any name fame

https://twitter.com/omram1206/status/1142459131493801984?s=19

The distinction between name and word is as the distinction between symbol and sign, and we see in this distinction between name and word, symbol and sign McGilchrist's distinction between Master and Emissary modes of attention -- the first and second attentions.

I think we can see here that Castaneda's use of the Toltec terms "nagual" and "tonal" for the 1st and 2nd attentions is the same as McGilchrist's "Master" and "Emissary" modes of the divided brain, and Aurobindo's "Sovereign" and "Minister" relation.

https://twitter.com/fourfoldvision/status/1142470518379036673?s=19

Do you have hurt feelings? Flight Of The Conchords has always helped me laugh at life's absurdities and might be one of the best written shows on TV. A musical parody that can only come from a place of pain. "It hurts our feelings when you say that we are not rappers." https://t.co/KDZeHcyHzN

https://twitter.com/coenesqued/status/1138498394081468416?s=19

"In the total darkness, poetry is still there, and it is there for you." Abbas Kiarostami, the beloved filmmaker who created some of the most inventive and transcendent cinema of all time, was born on this day in 1940. https://t.co/rGCLKRagpT

https://twitter.com/Criterion/status/1142402697934622720?s=19

Roger Ebert writes criticism and essays with poetic agility. Here is his work that led me to watch The Spirit of The Beehive (1973). A film with more secret cinematic influence on other filmmakers than you can shake a stick at. #HappyBirthdayRoger

https://t.co/KZIA0KIHdI https://t.co/dMM7l4BiTL

https://twitter.com/coenesqued/status/1141024551188353024?s=19

Is it at all a coincidence that film critic #RogerEbert's birthday falls on the exact same day as #TheWildBunch's 50th anniversary? I think not. Check out Ebert's Great Movies list at https://t.co/3iMiC0L2Fe with his great Tough Guy entries, including the Bunch! #ToughGuyTuesday https://t.co/PHPN2W0Vdt

https://twitter.com/RanesHook/status/1141070890974814208?s=19

The decline of democracy will be reversed only if the U.S. again takes up the mantle of democracy promotion, writes @LarryDiamond, but to do so effectively, it first has to repair its own broken democracy. https://t.co/OyevtaCSGa

https://twitter.com/ForeignAffairs/status/1142668012195123200?s=19

I'm an analytic philosopher who just recently discovered the propaganda against continental philosophy is wrong. Sartre, De Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau Ponty (or MMP for friends), Fanon. What should I do? What are some good overview works on these people (or others?)

https://twitter.com/Helenreflects/status/1142550306527428608?s=19

There's a gigantic but interesting book on Levinas by Michael Morgan, "Discovering Levinas"—it's nice for us because he compares and contrasts him with analytic philosophers like Korsgaard, Darwall, etc. It risks anachronisms but #YOLO.

https://t.co/wrbXPgO2DH

https://twitter.com/philoshua/status/1142606377619210241?s=19

Explore #Foucault's thoughts on homosexuality in this OUP blog. A major influence on #queertheory, he examined the issues of power, repression, and sexuality and the ways in which societies penalize those who reject the norms #PrideMonth #philosopherOTM  https://t.co/OuI06CYOcq

https://twitter.com/OUPPhilosophy/status/1142401879009136641?s=19

Gutenberg did not invent the printing press: https://t.co/GKQXAA0Xx6 | Remarkable. I remember the headache the Pakistanis caused the W Germans in the late 1940s when they asked for an Urdu typewriter. For Chinese and Korean...

https://twitter.com/orsoraggiante/status/1142631009835352065?s=19

I guess a lesson here for the Rest is to invest in History and not hand over national narratives to European and American universities. But alas, not even bad narratives can be replaced by quackery!

So his YouTube videos will also be a pile of snippets I guess, just like his hollow  snippet analysis of rrmr, sv etc :) and iirc, some even recommended a chairperson seat for him in ICHR or whatever https://t.co/ftL8oqKW5u

https://twitter.com/iridines/status/1142466553381658624?s=19

Nothing on earth probably matches premodern/modern  bengali literature, it's a mix of rationality, mysticism, culture, poetry that exceeds the best of music, yoga, vedanta. But it's roots to this magnificent blooming lie in the charja poems of deha tattva from a millennium back. https://t.co/V0U0tjZkKi

https://twitter.com/iridines/status/1142416919254818817?s=19

Doesn't matter what u admire or not, or ur zeal in seeking percentage of sanskrit in regional langs, and neither is sanskrit proportion the yardstick to judge literary quality, the flow of thoughts&ideas can come in any decent language,pre-modern bengali lit carries best of it. https://t.co/sLV7BeYoIy

https://twitter.com/iridines/status/1142474180648062982?s=19

From the perspective of the exegetical imperative towards comprehensive synthesis, any religion or spirituality that defines itself fundamentally oppositionally, against another idea or version of religion; atheism, Satanism, SBNR, etc. fails as both religion and spirituality.

Challenge of Panikkar’s pluralism and the path dependent imperatives of the comparative history of religions collide. Not necessarily in opposition...

https://twitter.com/krumbbumm/status/1142511379712098305?s=19

Teach British tourists the truth about empire – they can take it https://t.co/PXdMS8zdbt

I have a problem wth judging cultural artefacts by 'moral' standards. Whether u are RW nd dont want anti-Hindutva stuff like Leila up or liberal nd dont want misogynist Kabir Singh shown, u r in the same camp which thinks it has th right 2 tell every1 what they CAN consume. Stfu

https://twitter.com/utterflea/status/1142678285291098112?s=19

Judge a work by its quality. Does th premise work, is it successful in creating a world, do u c th POV of th charactrs, does it add to your understanding?

2 say something shld not be made or shown or outrage based on its 'moral' shortcomings is the sign of a closed mind.

Kerala has 'great' female gender indices but toxic masculinity is still present in popular culture/everyday life. Many feminists have written how rape scenes were so common in mainstream cinema there. Again, no paradox. Gender indices do not capture intensity of patriarchy. https://t.co/Z25Rdx2hpV

https://twitter.com/varunpatilbeng1/status/1142357844605280256?s=19

Rude Food: Did Coldplay appropriate our culture?Did George Harrison appropriate Indian music?Is Gordon Ramsay appropriating Asian food at his new London restaurant?

Of course not.Indians have always welcomed the cross fertilisation of food & culture https://t.co/JY7tQdovvU

https://twitter.com/virsanghvi/status/1142664325850550272?s=19

If we didn't welcome outside ideas I dont think I would have ever been able to eat Chinese. I can only eat the desified version( I know I know!). Bring it all on and let there be Indian influences everywhere so that all of us can enjoy new food everywhere we go.

https://twitter.com/princesssiggy/status/1142667471649988610?s=19

Not just food, imagine how unidimensional our lives would have been if there weren’t any cross border influences in our language, music, art, literature, clothing etc. It would be a sad colourless life!!

https://twitter.com/ranchisparrow/status/1142667425567014912?s=19

The beauty of learning from this great game...Shami makes a statement with a strong comeback. Cricket teaches you so much about life if you're observing closely #cricketlife

https://twitter.com/shishhattangadi/status/1142685069737259008?s=19

I used to think this is unique to cricket. Then I realised chess also does that. Then tennis. Finally realised that when you see life through the learning lens, you could actually be learning all the time. And growing! #growthmindset https://t.co/MVOEdLjsG0

https://twitter.com/bvhk/status/1142685714162888704?s=19

Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam? Addictive. So much more impactful than the Devdas cult and gave so much space to the women characters. https://t.co/FFeDNiGSUW

https://twitter.com/ammarawrites/status/1142685512391700482?s=19

Prachi Valley: Odisha's Best Kept Secret !

Ancient Prachi river is a part of Mahanadi n is termed as the Saraswati (holiest) river of the east. It has witnessed the co-existence of various religion ideologies like Jainism, Buddhism,Shaivism, Shaktism & Vaishnavism #PrachiValley https://t.co/N10pM1yfVW

https://twitter.com/TaraniTrotter/status/1139595269182390272?s=19

Nowhere in India can one find such a confluence of diff cultures & cults in this small stretch of river valley. Its undoubtedly the mine for archaeologists, historians, scholars etc #PrachiValley #SavePrachi

Loc: Rameswar Temple, Nuasasan, Cuttack @ashishsarangi https://t.co/xC2yZTjyyR

https://twitter.com/TaraniTrotter/status/1139606463779725314?s=19

Oh really sir ! Many places in Odisha have a suffix as 'lo', Kantilo, Brahmanajharilo, Sisilo etc. Sailo might be related with saila (stone) i.e Shailodbhavas (born from stone) dynasty (6-8th cent)

https://twitter.com/TaraniTrotter/status/1139831957871665153?s=19

Plasim Radar

AuroMaa

The Law of Vital Worlds, pp. 178-179 - Each world is governed by its own inherent and intrinsic law. Its beings and creatures as well as those who act under its influence come under this law a...

Footnotes2Plato

Theology of Nature Templeton research proposal, shelved : ( - Several weeks ago, I submitted a proposal for a Templeton Foundation research fellowship called “God and the Book of Nature: Science-engaged Theology of Na...

Poetry as Socio-proctology

Qu Yuan's rock - Be it by Wealth's wights' greed, or Chagrin's blight to breed The Eden of what's *original *in Sin swift goes to seed Not Qu Yuan's rock, in reflection's p...

The Indian Philosophy Blog

Prize Competition: Diversifying Analytic Theology - Here is a new prize competition that may be of interest to some blog readers, especially those working on topics such as theism in Nyāya or Vedānta, atheis...

Sri Aurobindo Studies

The Supreme Word: Vibratory Patterns That Create the Universal Manifestation, Part 2 - Western science, over the last 150 years or so, has come to recognise that the entire material world consists of and undergoes changes as a result of vibra...

The Chrysalis

Gebser, Traditionalism, and the Reactionary Mind - When I was a child — perhaps in grade 3 or 4 — I learned one of my most valuable life lessons from a simple game that our teacher had us play. Perhaps you ...

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Companion to ‘The Secret of the Veda’ by Mukund Ainapure - Companion to ‘The Secret of the Veda’ The Companion to The Secret of the Veda is meant as an aid to the systematic study of The Secret of the Veda for th...

The Immanent Frame

Mansplaining religion - While the hot cases [in Malaysia] differ in their details from those in the United States, the structure of the story is familiar. A clash between commun...

enowning

- Weimar Republic & the Phenomenology of Being Episode 30 of the Iphigenia Inquiry with Philip Armstrong.

An und für sich

Adorno and the Origins of “Never Again” - Ever since then candidate Trump began calling for mass deportations and religious bans, comparisons to the Third Reich have consistently been made. While m...

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Integral Yoga & Human Defects (II) -“Don’t Try to Be Virtuous…” - To realize that everybody has got some defects, and so to admit that one has some too, to accept to see them, whatever they may be, is only the very first ...

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A Series Inspired by India’s Rebirth – 3 - Author: Beloo Mehra (2019). Published under the title ‘When Young India Awakes’ in Sri Aurobindo’s Action, Vol. 50 (2 & 3), pp. 16-19. Continued from Part ...

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Posted by Tusar Nath Mohapatra at 7:48 PM

Location: Shipra Riviera, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201014, India

One must crawl before one can walk

"Sadhu-Sanga Under the holy association of Spd. B.M. Puri Maharaja, Ph.D."

...

Vinod,

The soul as a bundle of consciousness is self aware also like the universal consciousness.  In Samadhi state, which you often mention, the soul is not inert, it is conscious; conscious of itself even if it does not see anything else.  In other states, when the soul identifies itself with a body and its mind, it does not know its real nature and considers itself limited as if in a bondage.  Even in ordinary lives the individual consciousness (ego?) appears to know whatever it is doing and its own existence, etc. So, I do not see why you say "The "seer" due to it being "seer: of everything can't see itself".

Syamala

On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 1:15:05 AM CDT, VINOD KUMAR SEHGAL wrote:

Rosie,

Let me add that soul as a bundle of consciousness can never be seen since soul or consciousness itself is the "seer" of everything. The "seer" due to it being "seer: of everything can't see itself. Hereby the word "seer" is not limited to the process of seeing using the sense organs of eyes. But the word "seer" has an extended meaning of "knowing/experiencing" anything thru perceptual ability using 5 sense organs or thru the cognitive ability.

So what is seen by the medium? It is the astral body with soul encompassed in it which is seen by the medium. The Astral body can be seen in different colors, shapes, sizes, structures, and configurations. The astral body, at the will of the conscious soul, can assume any shape/size/colour.

Vinod Sehgal

On Wed, May 29, 2019 at 3:36 AM 'Ram Lakhan Pandey Vimal' via Scientific Basis of Consciousness wrote:

Hi Rosie,

It is indeed interesting, but what are the scientific evidence, mechanism, and metaphysics (dualism, idealism, materialism, or dual-aspect monism) behind it?

Cheers!

Kind regards,

Rām

Rām Lakhan Pāndey Vimal, Ph.D.

Amarāvati-Hīrāmaṇi Professor (Research)

Vision Research Institute Inc, Physics, Neuroscience, & Consciousness Research Dept.

25 Rita Street, Lowell, MA 01854 USA

Ph: +1 978 954 7522; eFAX: +1 440 388 7907

rlpvimal@yahoo.co.in; http://sites.google.com/site/rlpvimal/Home

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ram_Lakhan_Pandey_Vimal 

Researched at the University of Chicago and Harvard Medical Schools

On Tuesday, 28 May, 2019, 3:59:57 pm GMT-4, Rosemary Rock-Evans wrote:

Well Ram, this may be of interest to you - you may have to share heaven with the immortal souls of spiders...

And Randi, it may help you too, as here are two cases where a medium sees the immortal soul of animals

https://allaboutheaven.org/observations/ernesto_bozzano_professor_-_the_parapsychological_manifestations_of_animals_%E2%80%93_43_the_death_of_a_spider_results_in_its_spirit_being_seen_flying_away_by_a_medium/221

rosie

...

"Sadhu-Sanga Under the holy association of Spd. B.M. Puri Maharaja, Ph.D." group. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/Online_Sadhu_Sanga

To view this discussion https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/Online_Sadhu_Sanga/695289015.255215.1559616053607%40mail.yahoo.com

...

Hi Deepak, Irad, and Whit,

Interesting discussion. Perhaps, we can make further progress on the life-after-death issue with the following experiments. 

Deepak: Did Sadhguru mention that he has "seen"/experienced the other side of the iron-wall where science cannot yet penetrate? He also seems to mention that he was declared dead/brain-dead during a meditation-related experiment, which may imply he had no detectable NCC during his Samadhi state and he was out of his brain-body. If so, then he may be an important subject in the following experiments. [...]

From Sections 3.8.13.5 of (Vimal, 2016b) and 3.19.10 of (Vimal, 2016c), the working hypothesis and the three experiments on OOO-God theory are as follows:

A working hypothesis is as follows:

No mental entity (such as astral body, causal body, soul/Self, or God) is beyond our mind-brain-body system. It appears beyond only through the incompleteness of our knowledge such as related to the out-of-body experience (OBE). A complete knowledge must include the fact that an OBE has a neural-physical basis. Thus, enlightened yogis, mystics, and people who propose life-after-death appear to disregard the knowledge related to neuroscience that all experiences, including 21 astral entities seen in Savikalpa Samādhi (NS) state by Swami Yogeshwaranand Paramhansa (SYP) (Swāmi Yogeshwarānanda Paramhans, 1997, 2008) and OBEs at Nirvikalpa Samādhi (NS) state, have their respective neural bases and all mental entities are within the scope of mind-brain systems. [...]

Cheers!

Kind regards,

Rām

On Mon, Jun 03, 2019 at 09:07:12AM -0400, Irad Bernstein wrote:

> [DC] Right now everyone’s allegiance is split. We identify with our bodies some

> of the time and with our minds the rest of the time.

> 

> [I] Our thoughts are just as natural as the cells in our body, and as real.

> There is no split between the mental, the spiritual, and the physical. If you

> think so, you do not sufficiently understand the spirituality of the flesh or

> the physical reality of your thought. 

Irad,

"Natural" compared to what? I look out the window. The trees on the hill are

natural; our houses are constructed. Our houses are constructed of natural

materials; but the construction is based in human culture. 

Our minds, our thoughts, are to an important degree more like our homes than

the wild woods. Even to the degree they are alive and growing, unlike the

tree parts which are the walls of my house, it is in important ways a

cultured growth, dependent as agriculture is on the cultivator. 

There is, though, an irony in the common claim that the physical world is

deterministic, while our minds introduce freedom. Contrast that with the

medieval concept that it is our bodies which are wild, and our minds

responsible for disciplined restraint. 

In any case, where the cells in our body are natural, thoughts, being of

mind, and dependent on our cultures, are quite another thing. Those raised

by wolves do not, reportedly, have thoughts as we do. Their cells are

indistinguishable from ours though.

Best,

Whit

...

And there may have been earlier invasions of which we have not found records. As I commented to Adam Kun earlier today, the Cryogenic Period (with Snowball Earth) may have obliterated both them and their remains.

Continued tomorrow.

Peter Nyikos

...

Yes, David, but when it came to the venerable Linnean classification scheme as refined by great naturalists like Alfred Romer, you became very intolerant about the degrees of uncertainty that it coped with very well indeed. 

I'll have more to say about your actual words in my next installment to the series of answers that you gave to some questions of mine about the riddles of macroevolution.  

Peter Nyikos

...

David: 

If all you are interested in is increasingly accurate phylogenetic trees, then I have no quarrel with you. My quarrel is with those victors of "the cladist wars" who are working to abolish the Linnean classification altogether. 

I would dearly love to see a history of those wars. My only real glimpse into their workings is the salmon-lungfish-cow debate, and the two accounts of it that I have seen -- one by Henry Gee and the other by the author of an otherwise wonderful book on the coelacanth Latimeria - - are so inept that I suspect that the victory was totally undeserved. And these two are foursquare on the side of the victors. The wars, I suspect, were over before the traditional systematists knew what hit them. 

Their victory is not yet complete: Kardong  actually gave more space to an outline of the Linnean classification of Chordata than to the cladistic in an appendix to his 2012 edition of his textbook that is used here for the course in Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy.

It is of inestimable value pedagogically to have animals broken down into phyla. There is an old educational adage, "One must crawl before one can walk."  Elementary school children can easily learn about the main ones  to the point where they can easily tell which of the following a given animal belongs to: Cnidaria, Echinodermata, Chordata, Mollusca, Arthropoda.  And  I doubt that any anatomist  worth his salt would confuse a living member of one phylum with another. 

...

Irrationality is very much part of the uniqueness of our inner cosmos, as is our rationality. Instead of playing one against the other our irrationality can be managed and rituals play an important role in it.  https://t.co/wT939wJUao via @swarajyamag

https://twitter.com/arvindneela/status/1136506585491001344?s=19

Just a very humble suggestion: Every Hindutvaite should familiarize oneself with 

a) works of Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Savarkar, Gandhi and Ambedkar

b) works of Carl Sagan, Fritjof Capra (not just 'Tao of Physics'), Michael Shermer and James Randi -particularly ministers.

https://twitter.com/arvindneela/status/1135729657301495808?s=19

Carl Sagan and Michael Shermer and Randi for immunizing themselves against pseudo-science peddlers and also to save us from getting embarrassed by our leaders talking 'ancient-alien' type nonsense.

is this what Stephen Jay Gould calls NOMA- Non overlapping magisteria? 

Problem is how do we switch between the 2 modes of thinking? Eg see the irrational "anti-vaccination" movement in the US & Pakistan which could cause a serious health hazard

https://twitter.com/ChandhokHursh/status/1136510257558167552?s=19

I have not read him but many perceptive persons are recommending the books by Nigurananda (Professor Sachidananda Sarkar). You may check. There would be many others like him.

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1139376396042588171?s=19

Plain & Simple: A non-fiction novel about Auroville https://t.co/CqBX0uqINP

Savitri Era Learning Forum: Aesthetics like nutrition should seek the right-mix https://t.co/yO1kstnTKy

Reimagining and Refashioning Integral Management - Tusar Nath Mohapatra, Savitri Era Learning Forum (SELF) Ghaziabad https://t.co/YGoEhdLyp7

Bengal was under the influence of William Carey

ANNIVERSARY OF SRI AUROBINDO'S ARRIVAL TO PONDICHERRY – APRIL 4

#SriAurobindo came to Pondicherry on 4 April 1910. While engaged in the freedom struggle in Bengal, Sri Aurobindo received an ‘adesh’ (a Divine Command) to go to #Pondicherry.

#Puducherry #April4th #IntegralYoga https://t.co/pSJeL7Hphz

https://twitter.com/AuroSociety/status/1113414245851336704?s=19

Sri Aurobindo arrived in Puducherry on April 4, 1910 at the age of 37 which marks an important turning point in his life. The Mother would come four years later on March 29, 1914 and they launch the monthly magazine ARYA on August 15, 1914. Why #August15? https://t.co/q62YroLgoG

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1113333801575342081?s=19

The Mother came to #Puducherry to meet Sri Aurobindo on March 29, 1914. This single event is the only tangible reason to believe that there is some meaning in our existence and what all the philosophies and religions have been searching for will certainly be found out. Gratitude.

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1111486944364716032?s=19

Happy #SavitriEraDay on the sacred occasion of 104th anniversary of The Mother's first arrival in Puducherry and meeting Sri Aurobindo on March 29, 1914. May the whole world come under her love and grace #MirraAlfassa #SriAurobindo #Pondicherry #SavitriEra #FiveDreams #WorldUnion

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/979213947281821696?s=19

Spiritual significance of flowers by The Mother and Psychological interpretation of Vedic deities by Sri Aurobindo are original works and have much in common. Both highlight ethics and virtues without being tethered to any rewards mechanism of Karma theory https://t.co/r7Z8aybMq8

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1110123638479601664?s=19

While the theories of Presocratic philosophers on natural elements like earth, air, fire, and water are well known, Vedic pronouncements on the same like agni etc are not very popular. Sri Aurobindo explains them as rungs of consciousness not far removed from inquiries in physics

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1110130835896893441?s=19

For us the devotees of course these outward details or a chronological account of their gradual progress in spiritual realisation are just a distraction but some dates are important pointers of planetary Evolution like WWI or Hitler hoping to be in Buckingham Palace on August 15.

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1113341320532070400?s=19

Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on May 22, 1772, Giuseppe Mazzini died on March 10, 1872; and Sri Aurobindo was born on August 15, 1872. William Carey arrived in India in 1793; Sri Aurobindo returned in 1893. Interplay of diverse ideological strands is obvious https://t.co/wLA9S3iEMQ

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1113352699129421824?s=19

Sri Aurobindo is caustic in his criticism of religion including Hinduism. While delivering the Veda from the clutches of rituals is one of his great breakthroughs, throwing away the crutches of external props in favour of living within is his idea of Yoga. https://t.co/dz2ISSOAT7

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1113359578614390784?s=19

Vivekananda was a product of his time. He was very much influenced by Christian missionaries and that shows in his writings. He deserves our respect but some of his writings should be taken with a pinch of salt. Sri Aurobindo had better clarity in his thoughts.

https://twitter.com/TrueIndology/status/1099651107805192193?s=19

Do you understand the difference between influence and collaboration? He fought against Christian missionaries but was still influenced by their writings.

@rajivvarma42 Bengal was under the influence of William Carey. His shishya #RamMohanRoy,#Ramakrishna, #Vivekananda all experimented with ONE GOD but in some speeches Swami Vivekananda does acknowledge the influence of #cryptochristianity in #NeoVedanta.But he passed away too soon

https://twitter.com/pburavalli/status/1100083258807734272?s=19

No. My pt is that Ramakrishna and Vivekananda also fell for british narrative and insidious propaganda that Hinduism was regressive and needed to be reformed

No one reads Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Raja Rammohan Roy in detail. Although you are right, people are still in awe of the so called Hindu Reform Movement. It is therefore advisable not to undermine the current set of heroes irrespective of their faults

https://twitter.com/pburavalli/status/1100081228747816961?s=19

Sri Aurobindo: His Early Life and Entry to Indian Independence Struggle - India's Stories From Indian Perspectives https://t.co/cQRFheFQCX

https://twitter.com/pburavalli/status/1111246198818721792?s=19

One more. Every reformer of Hindu religion has called Hindus regressive and have said they need to reform. What was Ramanujacharya if not a reformer? Buddha, Mahaveera? Can we say that they were all influenced by Christian/Western thought?

https://twitter.com/Chintana2020/status/1100235670218366979?s=19

There is some more proof that বন্দে মাতরম্ is a Bengali song, not a Sanskrit one. Quite apart from the fact that some of the stanzas are purely Bangla, there is the fact that Bankim Babu wrote শস্যশ্যামলাং, not সস্যশ্যামলাং as he would have if he used the Sanskrit spelling.

https://twitter.com/maidros78/status/1113173111417913344?s=19

This is quite in keeping with Bankim's way of writing his songs and invocations in the middle of his stories. He does the same thing in কমলাকান্তের দপ্তর, using hyper Sanskritised Bangla with Sanskrit consonant grammar.

Further, there is the point that বন্দে মাতরম্ does not fit the Sanskrit ছন্দস্ which mandates very specific rules for the style of writing. Even for a বিষম বৃত্ত, বন্দে মাতরম্ does not fit the rules of any ছন্দস্ in Sanskrit. Consequently, it has to be regarded as a Bangla song.

https://twitter.com/maidros78/status/1113178077905924096?s=19

The wellspring of our revolutionaries was in Hindu ethos. Most of them were Hindu revolutionaries in that they drew their inspiration from Hindu ideas and ideals, even those would go on to become Leftist revolutionaries later on.

https://twitter.com/maidros78/status/1113172290886295552?s=19

I was thinking of people like Birendranath Chattopadhyaya and MN Roy, who, though not imprisoned, became exiles from India, and left amidst hardcore Leftists. But even their beginnings were in purely Hindu ideals, with MN Roy especially worshipping in graveyards for power.

https://twitter.com/maidros78/status/1113176008511774720?s=19

You are speaking of a long dead Left that actually had a Hindu component - Baba Ramachandra, Swami Sahajananda, Dal Bahadur Giri, etc. Post 1970s Left never had any Indic inclinations.

https://twitter.com/maidros78/status/1113462870094647296?s=19

The  Sanghi Ji s like Tathagata Ji, @swapan55 Ji, @KanchanGupta Ji, @sanjeevsanyal Ji ought to be ashamed at the yeoman service Shanmukh is doing to the Bengalis. A parallel contrast in history - Netra Sen vs Sakharam Deuskar. Unlikely the racists would have heard of either: https://t.co/XhkaN9ZJjd

https://twitter.com/sarkar_swati/status/1113261985314025478?s=19

Subhas Chandra Bose repeatedly spoke of Hindu Bengalis and identified himself as one. I am yet to read Aurobindo Ghosh or Swami Vivekananda in full to comment on your claim.

https://twitter.com/sarkar_swati/status/1113273174903480320?s=19

@LenteCurrite Have you read about Brahmabandhav Upadhyay? I had heard of him before but didn’t know much about him until @dikgaj mentioned him to me. May interest you.

https://twitter.com/sarkar_swati/status/1107851150534082560?s=19

I don’t reside in spirit, and won’t have much in common with Aurobindo-ites. Sorry. I have said what I had to about him his pre-jail days, in our latest article, and what I think about him post his release is in the above tweets. Will ignore trolls. Bye

https://twitter.com/sarkar_swati/status/1109792222705303552?s=19

One last time, some of Aurobindo Ghosh’s statements post his release were theater of the absurd. And that doesn’t take away from the sheer brilliance & ingenuity  of his writings before going to jail. No amount of trolling will change my views on the same.

https://twitter.com/sarkar_swati/status/1109792997477093377?s=19

#Saileena,no one said our #Revolutionaries were in the #FreedomFight as #Hindu Vs #Christians, in fact #Saswati never even brought up "Christian" angle in the discussion, was 1st raised by you. 

#Hindu was "already" made into a #Terrorist by #Racist #Audrey & then you amplified it. https://t.co/Q1dKzQvRL6

https://twitter.com/PradzWorLd/status/1113388004410908672?s=19

Huge difference is motivated from their religious roots and fighting as 'Hindus against Christians'.

Also in Bengal, Muslims were mostly peasants...poor&struggling to survive..& revolution doesn't happen on an empty stomach.

https://twitter.com/saileenas/status/1113320514892832768?s=19

Too bad you understood what you wanted to. My counter was to both audrey Ts tweet and the half sanghis like saswati...This new club of Muslim hating, bengali pride lot is no different from Muslim hating & Bengali hating bjp. & clearly you have chosen your side.

https://twitter.com/saileenas/status/1113392313483563009?s=19

Active freedom fighters were from the middle and intellectual classes. Vande Mataram proved a catalyst; evangelism a trigger. Peasants and the poor have no time or energy left to fight. Christian and Muslim intellectuals apparently did not participate in any remarkable numbers.

https://twitter.com/Swami_843/status/1113483505713917961?s=19

[She was the first person to address Sri Aurobindo as ‘Lord’ while the other inmates considered him nothing more than a friend and a guide. Her entire life was consecrated to the Divine. We are talking of Dorothy Mary Hodgson who is better known as Datta.] https://t.co/noYRAY8wm0

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1113132125459447811?s=19

Which biography of Sri Aurobindo matches this description? Lamentably, perhaps none. Let's hope @SpiritWithBody undertakes

[too much must not be expected from any humble effort to produce, rather a pleasing but faithful miniature, than a grand and commanding full-sized portrait.]

Odisha was busy fighting for a separate State and the leaders then were of a different make; many were poets with a universal outlook. No wonder, Odisha admires Sri Aurobindo at a mass level. Sri Aurobindo too was not enthusiastic about Subhas; saw some strains of negative energy

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1109778234663682049?s=19

Two books, Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx by D.P. Chattopadhyaya and The Meeting of the East and the West in Sri Aurobindo's Philosophy by S.K. Maitra, helped me substantially to understand theory. Later, The Humanization of Transcendental Philosophy by R. Sundara Rajan was pivotal.

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/973195556028784641?s=19

Be it Herder or Hegel or "ever-living, ever-working Chaos of Being" of Carlyle, deciphering history has always involved dollops of speculation. But for Sri Aurobindo "random seem the ways...Yet...are foreseen above. Infallibly the curves of life are drawn" https://t.co/GGX9uSDmco

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/973218733333213184?s=19

My original contributions to understanding or interpreting Sri Aurobindo can be summarised under a number of heads:

1) Against Hindutva, Mythology, & Astrology

2) Vedas against Rituals

3) Against Vivekananda

4) Espousing Modernity & Democracy

5) Nationhood to States & languages.

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1097133810544562176?s=19

People of my generation have been brought up on distorted history. Just read a thread by a foreigner recounting assassination of Gandhi and other "truths." Unless we write down our own history correctly, anyone can challenge the facts and put our academic standards to shame. Sad!

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1113143237823225856?s=19

Whether it is TI, AT, MT, or SS/S/D, a certain agenda drives them and not the urge to establish the truth. Taking revenge or victimhood is a dominant sentiment always. Of course, everyone is toiling for some money or name and so, history without any slant has a scant possibility.

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1113143237823225856?s=19

Plain & Simple: Savitri Era Party has this priority of removing castes from Indian Constitution https://t.co/AoRsSog7dw [THE MESSAGE OF SRI AUROBINDO: GOD, ROMANTIC LOVE, AND PHYSICAL IMMORTALITY by Seth Farber, PhD] https://t.co/4G62Sn71lL - https://t.co/iGvavt6NZC #SriAurobindo

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1113100347189288965?s=19

Aurora Mirabilis: Sri Aurobindo's theo-political reconfiguration of Hinduism https://t.co/DtTdut4wrK

[The Making of an Avatar: Reading Sri Aurobindo Ghose (1872–1950): 6 Sep 2018 - Alex Wolfers] #MirraAlfassa #SriAurobindo #IntegralYoga #WorldUnion #SavitriEraDay @NathTusar

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/1111562458353803269?s=19

Scholarship is a lifelong affair and narratives keep changing. Apart from his intellectual prowess, Sri Aurobindo did disclose in public (Uttarpara speech) that he can see the future, unlike other mortals. Contesting that claim is way beyond our faculties. https://t.co/6JSzvwkDPU

https://twitter.com/NathTusar/status/1109787616734371841?s=19

With the blessings of the Mother, #LifeDivine is my humble attempt to understand magnum opus by #SriAurobindo ! It’s surprising to note that the 1st one-volume edition was brought out in the US in 1949!! As Directed by Her, ✍️ is the Best way to understand the Words of SA!! https://t.co/ukhFYUys0R

https://twitter.com/Sanjays81301051/status/1112731777448185856?s=19

Let us go through 'The Life Divine', #SriAurobindo's major philosophical work

https://t.co/Phrdvuyjgm https://t.co/VwA3AzxJy7

https://twitter.com/Auro_Mere/status/745317659340726273?s=19

Actually much earlier. We had Girilal Jain, in his own subtle way, defending te rising stars(then) of the Hindutva bandwagon. https://t.co/qwESJf4xI3

https://twitter.com/nesoron/status/894217927464853504?s=19

Sardar Patel worked tirelessly towards forcing unity on a set of people as diverse as chalk, cheese, cotton & coal. Nothing noble about it.

https://twitter.com/vimuktaatma/status/660281850141634561?s=19

Shorn of euphemisms, what he did can also be referred to as the largest slave conquest in modern history.

Patel & other so-called "leaders" were  a pack of vultures who swooped down on the leftovers of British rule and homesteaded all of it.

[Prerna Singh’s book, How Solidarity Works for Welfare: Subnationalism and Social Development in India] @thewire_in  https://t.co/K3s4kYXhYw

https://twitter.com/SavitriEraParty/status/863886586185777152?s=19

By all accounts, Modi's rally in Kolkata today was unprecedented in attendance. Mamata won't be able to sleep for weeks now.

https://twitter.com/India_Policy/status/1113442158164488194?s=19

Seems like BJP has finally cracked Bengal, along with Odisha.

East is going to be the new West! https://t.co/fKwEe2WsMg